1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical apparatus provided with an image pickup apparatus to be introduced into the body and an operation method for introducing the medical apparatus into the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is generally known, endoscope apparatuses, which are medical apparatuses, are provided with an image pickup apparatus, designed to be introduced into a body cavity of a patient and carry out various kinds of inspections and treatment or the like of affected areas in the body based on observed images photographed by the image pickup apparatus.
Examples of such endoscopes include those introduced into digestive organs such as esophagus, stomach, large intestine, duodenum, which are tube cavities and tubes in the body from the oral cavity or anus and those introduced into the abdominal cavity from the vicinity of the umbilical region by puncturing through the body wall and, in addition, surgical operations that conduct therapy or treatment while observing organs in the body, so-called laparoscopic surgery are becoming a focus of attention.
This laparoscopic surgery is a low-invasive operation without requiring any large-scale abdominal operation, and can thereby perform treatment by puncturing, through the abdomen of the patient, a trocar that guides an observation endoscope into the body cavity and a trocar that guides a treatment instrument to a treatment region and introducing the endoscope into the abdominal cavity of the patient.
As the above-described medical apparatus introduced into the body, a capsule apparatus is disclosed as described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-20809, in which an ultrasound capsule is detachably connected to a free end of a signal cable via a connector so that the ultrasound capsule is detachable from the signal cable.
Even when bent portions and narrowed portions of tubes of in-body tubes prevent the ultrasound capsule from passing, this conventional capsule apparatus is designed to prevent such obstruction from causing pain to the patient or prevent a signal cable from suffering wire breakage and allow the ultrasound capsule to be discharged out of the body.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 7-250809 discloses an apparatus provided with a solid hollow shaft having an at least partially transparent penetrating distal end portion at a far end for penetration of a body tissue which can be provided with illumination and visualization members.
This conventional apparatus for penetrating a body tissue allows the tissue to be observed through the transparent member at the distal end portion before penetrating or removing the tissue or the like using a trocar or the like.